An interactive learning ecology for students and parents in my AP Calculus class. This ongoing dialogue is as rich as YOU make it. Visit often and post your comments freely.

June 10, 2007

Passing it forward!

Some 44 years ago (when I was about your age) my father who used to travel a lot, penned a letter to me and enclosed a short article clipped from a magazine. In that letter, he wished for me a life of purpose and joy. The enclosed clipping described such a life and quoted George Bernard Shaw whose words you can read above.

I carried that article with me for years; unfortunately, somewhere in the many moves, it was lost. But not the thought and the power of those words; they have become a part of who I am. I know that my career as a teacher, and my mentoring are but "drops in the ocean" in this often violent, globalized world of ours but they are a significant part of my life which has been filled with joy, happiness and love. I'm sure that my father's writing and sharing those thoughts adds to their meaning for me, especially now that Alzheimer's prevents him from recalling what occurred. His belief in me, in mankind in general,and his wish that I might find a life of purpose and joy shaped my world.

I'm passing that forward --my belief in you, my belief in mankind, and my wish that you find real purpose and joy in life!